After a chaotic nine-goal collapse against Colorado, Minnesota faces a high-stakes crease conundrum. Coach John Hynes must decide if Jesper Wallstedt can rebound or if Filip Gustavsson returns.
The Minnesota Wild is back in action tonight for Game 2 in the Second Round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs against the Colorado Avalanche.
Minnesota lost the opening game by three in a 15-goal thriller, 9-6. In that game, Jesper Wallstedt let up eight goals which was a career-high.
After the game, Wild head coach John Hynes didn't single the rookie goaltender out. He said the team didn't put Wallstedt in the right spot on a lot of the goals.
At the end of the day, Wallstedt let up eight goals in a playoff game that the Wild scored six. You should win nine times out of ten when you score six goals in a game.
“I thought Wally played … look what the score was,” Hynes said. “We can say it was nine. But they got the empty netter. And their guy was in for a lot of goals against, too.”
Filip Gustavsson, who was the Wild's starter pretty much all season, lost the starting job in the final weeks of the season.
In the first round, it looked like Hynes made the right decision. Wallstedt went 4-2-0 with a 2.05 goals-against average and a .924 save percentage.
Wild forward Marcus Foligno is not worried about the rookie netminder. Despite a rough night, the assistant captain has no doubt in his mind that Wallstedt will bounce back.
“He’s going to bounce back,” Foligno said. “He’ll be fine next game. He’s a beast. This wasn’t on him.”
Whether that is tonight or later, remains to be seen. Hynes did not tip his cap on any lineup decisions at media availability on Monday.
So, will Wallstedt remain in the crease, or will Gustavsson start his first game of the playoffs and his first game since April 13th?
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